Institute of Organic Chemistry III, Macromolecular Chemistry, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany.
Small. 2012 Nov 19;8(22):3465-75. doi: 10.1002/smll.201200409. Epub 2012 Aug 23.
Quantum dots (QDs) coated with an albumin-derived copolymer shell exhibit significant photoresponsiveness to DNA loading and have great potential for investigating gene delivery processes. The QDs reported herein are positively charged, have attractive optical properties, and are noncytotoxic and notably stable in live cells. Their complex formation with plasmid DNA leads to proportionally decreased photoluminescence and efficient gene transfection is observed. Therefore, they are suitable for live-cell bioimaging and mechanistic studies of nonviral gene delivery. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy is applied for the first time to investigate individual QDs diffusing in large endosomes inside living cells, and serves as a valuable tool to study the physical properties of QDs inside live cells. The data obtained in this study strongly support the notable stability of these QDs, even in cell endosomes.
量子点（QDs）用白蛋白衍生共聚物壳包裹后，对 DNA 负载表现出显著的光响应性，在研究基因传递过程方面具有巨大的潜力。本文报道的 QDs 带正电荷，具有吸引人的光学性质，在活细胞中无细胞毒性且显著稳定。它们与质粒 DNA 的复合物形成导致光致发光比例降低，并观察到有效的基因转染。因此，它们适合用于活细胞生物成像和非病毒基因传递的机制研究。荧光相关光谱首次被应用于研究在活细胞内大内涵体中扩散的单个 QD，是研究活细胞内 QD 物理性质的有价值的工具。本研究获得的数据强烈支持这些 QD 的显著稳定性，即使在细胞内涵体中也是如此。
